PORTFOLIO OF WORK
A bit of what I have written for the academy, a bit what I have written just for me.
The following represent my written achievements, which to date are the successes (as determined by myself and others judging my work) in my writing which are particularly meaningful to me as they showcase the evolution of my interests, my style, and my confidence as a writer. Some encompass and explore topics in medieval German literature, and others include book reviews, op-eds, and technical projects.
HOHE MINNE, NIEDERE MINNE: POETICS AND POLITICS IN UNTER DER LINDEN
Fall 2018
Love or minne, and the art of wooing, are central themes vital to the distinct literary identity which encapsulates the vernacular literature of the German High Middle Ages, where men and women alike find themselves engaged both in the anticipatory stages of seeking love, and also in their eventual physical manifestations. Medieval balladry of all sorts set out to explore, understand, and even possibly define the primal behavioral abstraction minne which, in the case of longer chronicles of the age, possesses a great deal of influence and functionality within the confines of a given narrative. Where tales of Arthurian Romance and knight errantry would reckon on minne, specifically hohe Minne, or love as explored in a courtly context as a means of character and plot development, minnesang, the other flourishing tradition of lyric- and song-writing during the High Middle Ages laments, admires, and ponders the authority of minne of all sorts (specifically hohe Minne and niedere Minne [love amongst commoners]) in shorter poems and episodes, freed from obligations associated with propelling a hefty narrative forward. This preoccupation in the dynamics of romantic human relationships galvanized poets into action: their representations of love as a single, episodic occurrence of intimacy, a mere moment in time, offer oftentimes climactic or at least dramatic and entertaining lyrical exploits. Indeed, it serves as no great wonder that so many of these works have managed to endure in popularity through vacillating trends and historical situations, and survive still physically in manuscripts. The resulting oeuvre from the days of the dominion of the minnesang includes many earlier works as German poets came under the influence of the Provençal troubadours and the French trouvères to be sure, but by around 1190 until 1230, Germany’s lyricists began to abandon their Franco-Provençal influences for a more uniquely German literary idiom. This literary interval is commonly considered to be the period of Classical Minnesang with poets such as Albrecht von Johansdorf, Heinrich von Morungen, and Reinmar von Hagenau developing new forms and exploring new themes and genres in poetics, reaching its apotheosis in Walther von der Vogelweide, regarded both in the Middle Ages and in the present day as the greatest of the Minnesänger.
Walther von der Vogelweide composed many songs concerning love, politics, and in the case of his work Unter der Linden for this particular study, possibly a combination of the two. According to my thesis, Unter der Linden functions to challenge minne as a concept previously gifted in literature (and to an extent society as well) primarily to males of the noble or well-born classes. Valued and held in high esteem as both a cultural and scholarly asset, Unter der Linden was composed during the age of the Classical Minnesang and outlines a vivid, pastoral, decidedly non-courtly female retrospection of a fleeting moment of intimacy between the (female) narrator and a beau, with a singing nightingale as the single outside witness. Unter der Linden is already long-established as an exemplary poem of archetypal minnesang tradition, but what distinguishes the work in particular is its exploration of a subgenre of minnesang- that of the previously mentioned niedere Minne- being written in the same tradition in which hohe Minne is housed. The great care and frank politeness which Walther employs in his representation of a lovestruck commoner may indicate charming, ever-so-slight traces of unrefinedness, but Walther flaunts the stuffy conventions of hohe Minne in his composition, instead presenting a lavish scene of the physical joining of two people in the middle of a remote flowered alcove, all atop a refined paradigm of classic minnesang meter and verse. I argue that Walther von der Vogelweide makes use of the contemporary poetic stylistics of his age reserved for courtly love to explore love and its conventions outside of the courts, with the ability to love as a classless inclination: an organic and primal human emotion that all are capable of and all have the right experience, which I believe is Walther’s intention. I will conduct a formal analysis on Unter der Linden, focusing primarily on both aspects of the poem’s structure which mirror works delving into the idealism of hohe Minne (or, how the poem is written) and those which have distinguished the work to scholars as one belonging to the minnesang-archetype of niedere Minne (or, what is written in the poem).
FROM FALSE MONK TO POPE: GUILT, SIN, AND THE SPIRITUAL QUEST IN GREGORIUS
Fall 2018
Hartmann von Aue, the great epic poet of the German High Middle Ages, left a legacy of narrative poems, all fervidly moralistic and didactic, if not altogether religious in nature, which harmonize the extremes in the earthly human experience with the strict Christian and societal dogmas of the Medieval Age. Iwein and Erec, his Arthurian romances, and his narrative poem Der arme Heinrich, all portray men who face utter ruin and disaster; they neglect their duties to God, favoring too heavily their wife, knightly duties, or worldly possessions instead, causing imbalance in their lives. All of these men start out as great men, brave, accomplished knights dedicated to service and earnest deeds, only to have a shadow cast over them later on as they lose their wives, their riches, and their station in life, as punishment for deviating from Hartmann’s “right” path which he so clearly traces for them in his narratives. Hartmann’s von Aue Gregorius explores a life that was doomed before it even started: the story commences with a child being conceived in sin, a product of incest between a noble-born brother and sister. The newborn protagonist Gregorius is cast to the sea and brought up impoverished in a monastery. Ignorant of his own genesis, he eventually marries his own mother unknowingly, repents of his sins in exile and eventually becomes Pope. Hartmann unsurprisingly tells his tale painted atop a biblical canvas: the trials and tribulations that Gregorius faces undeniably, and self-consciously, mirror those of stories of men from the Bible. The similarity between Gregorius’ story with those in the Bible would no doubt have made his plight all the more sympathetic to a Medieval audience, filling them with urgency to observe the moral of the story. Hartmann’s extensive use of these biblical motifs aids gives his audience valuable insights regarding the extent of responsibility in and guilt of sin, as they relate sin in everyday life situations to the religious stance on such issues, which of course viewed sin as the ultimate transgression against divine doctrine. Further, his vivid focus on the development and plight of the individual on a rigorous journey of deliverance from sin rings practical as it is poignant while Gregorius reconciles the unsavory, dishonorable circumstances surrounding his birth with his own eventual sinful actions, and a proposed “right” path is again forged in Gregorius to join Hartmann’s other works which entertain as much as they preach.
Much of the older scholarly literary criticism regarding Gregorius has been directed specifically toward Gregorius’ guilt or lack thereof (according to Hartmann’s representation), but I propose shifting interpretive focus of guilt not so heavily on the sins and guilt of Gregorius and his parents but rather towards Gregorius’ dynamic journey to salvation and his time in exile as he overcomes his guilt and sins. I therefore argue that Hartmann von Aue identifies and portrays being guilty of sin as something organic, inherited, even expected of mankind that is very much able to be overcome with proper penance. Indeed, he uses his tale of the guoten sündære [v.176] to show an extreme case of one who has the odds of a righteous life completely stacked against him, but who is still able to triumph brilliantly once he pays proper tribute to his maker in the form of discovering his “right” path of penance. The rhetorical impact of biblical motifs on Hartmann’s narrative as they mimic Gregorius’ situations will be considered. Particular attention will be directed towards Hartmann’s prologue, where he very vividly and bluntly offers global comments regarding best spiritual practices for any and every individual before allowing Gregorius’ narrative to unfold according to the foundation established in his opening lines, with many observations and ideas from his introduction being repeated in his account of his protagonist’s tumultuous life.
ALLEGORY AND ALLITERATION: THE TRANSLATION OF LITERARY TRADITION IN MEDIEVAL ARTHURIAN ROMANCE
Spring 2018, graduate student research symposium
It is neither controversial nor novel to credit the late twelfth-century French poet, Chrétien de Troyes, with forever integrating Geoffrey’s of Monmouth Arthurian Legend and romance from sixth-century Celtic antiquity into the contemporary literary tradition of the European High Middle ages. This achievement not only raised the Matter of Britain to lasting literary eminence and canon, but his various Arthurian myths, set contextually as chivalric romances in particular, inspired diverse and assorted adaptations throughout Europe, to much enjoyment of kings at court and lay people alike. Of particular interest, especially for a comparative study, is an adaptation of Chrétien’s de Troyes Yvain, the Knight of the Lion (ca. 1177-81): a story of knight-errantry written in rhymed verse, in which the protagonist Yvain, a knight of Arthur’s court, is first rejected by his lady for disloyalty in failing to fulfill a promise, and subsequently engages in a number of heroic deeds and trials in order to regain her favor and love. The Old Norse version Ívens Saga, first commissioned under the patronage of King Hákon Hákonarson of Norway likely sometime around 1226, is often overlooked in scholarship, yet similarly to its German and Middle English cousins, the work remains faithful to the skeletal plot material and order of events, but is shorter by approximately one third than that of Chrétien’s original, and is instead composed as partially- alliterative prose-narrative, with its short chapters divided simply by scene changes. There are however no surviving original manuscripts of Ívens Saga in Norway, in fact the entire subset of romantic riddarasǫgur owe their survival to later Icelandic scribes who likely altered the works due to time constraints or stylistic obligations. My analysis therefore is applied only to the later Icelandic versions of Ívens Saga and makes no claims about the originals presented to Hákon the Old of Norway, as he was nicknamed. To be sure, the mere series of happenings documented in these works, no matter how appealing aesthetically and historically, do not serve as my foundational basis for inquiry and examination, as they are notably very nearly identical, yet what occurs in the narrative space outside of the goings on in the story shall offer insight into the individual logic and creativity applied in interpreting and adapting Arthurian myth for very different reasons and for very different target audiences. In other words, the modes of performative storytelling both violated from Chrétien’s work of origin and applied anew during adaptation of Ívens Saga, according to the author’s individualized ambitions and long-established literary tradition, alter considerably the overall style, voice, temporality, and form of the Old Norse manuscripts. It is important to note that both modern and bygone scholarship recognize a distinct separation and classification between the issues of retelling and translating in medieval adaptation. Franz Josef Worstbrock’s 1999 essay deals with this concentrated issue, and he very aptly indicates that medieval storytelling in itself is retelling, which in turn is incompatible to translating and literary-tradition specific modes of fictionality. Further, Worstbrock argues that authors are in effect artificēs; artists, craftsmen of early written word, and where the Icelandic scribe faithfully transmitted Chrétien’s plot material, much artistic and stylistic liberties, such as alliterative-descriptions, commentary, and flat-out omission were exercised in developing the form of the narrative. Therefore, Ívens Saga, though altered in language, is a retelling, adapted for different peoples according to their participatory involvement in and innate understanding of civilization and society.
Although Yvain and in turn Iwein and Ívens Saga are preserved as written medium, all three works were originally composed for the ears, relying greatly on a strong, impactful beginning, utilizing agents of auditory pleasure in the form of rhymed allegory or alliteration, in order to mould the world of fantasy with the existential reality of the spectators. The opening lines in particular of Yvain and in turn Iwein and Ívens Saga, both in their introduction of the ancient setting of Arthur’s court and the integrating of the central issues of the plot into the attentions of their audiences varies greatly. The development of the flawed protagonist therefore takes shape differently, and the literary-culture specific patterns which are set to motion in the first several words of each piece accompany Yvain/Iwein/Iven for the duration of his many trials and tribulations back to his wife, Laudine. Using Chretien’s work as sort of experimental control, I will examine how Hartmann von Aue utilizes didactical allegory to instil criticism upon Iwein’s character, in turn criticizing courtly culture and the superficial impossibility of knightly obligation and duty as required by chivalry. Further, I argue that the author of the Old Norse version, whose identity has been lost to time, employs alliteration not only traditionally as an archaic correspondence of sound between letters, but as an didactic linguistic exaggeration in order to illuminate vital scenes to enhance enjoyment and understanding of the otherwise unknown social structure of the Western-European courts, especially as expressed in service to ladies. The strong authorial presence engrained in the opening narration of both Iwein and Ívens Saga will be considered as aiding in the morphus and creative personalization of literary tradition for the sake of loyal retelling.
MIR SINT DIE LANTLIUTE GRAM (HELMBRECHT, 1771)
Fall 2019
Where the contemporary literature of the High Middle Ages preferred to depict the goings on of men of high societal rank encased within the narrative confines of the European courts, medieval compositions which depict the humble, simple lives of peasant folk are rare. Rarer still for such times I have described are narratives which provide an individual voice and purpose to the common man, such as Wernher’s der Gärtner short, epic poem Helmbrecht, which follows the failed career of the peasant boy Helmbrecht, as he rejects and struggles to break the bonds of his rank and circumstance by birthright to play the part of the would-be knight. Wernher der Gärtner manages to evoke the fragility and fluidity of civilization of the later part of the twelfth century by exploring the sordid decline of chivalry through his character Helmbrecht junior, alongside the evolving social stance of the everyday rustic, through his portrayal of Helmbrecht senior, the father of Helmbrecht junior, and patriarchal figure in the poem. Utilizing both realistically satirical elements combined with more somber, direct didacticism aimed specifically at impressionable youth, Wernher’s der Gärtner reliance and wide manipulation of dialogue in Helmbrecht aids in centering his narrative around the psychological development and eventual decline of his character Helmbrecht junior, rather than the more common narration form which focused on the lineal passage of time and events. Wernher also applies metonymic methods of storytelling in weaving Helmbrecht junior's long hair and elaborately decorated red hûbe tightly with his existential sense of self as the tale unfolds and both Helmbrecht and the hûbe eventually unravel at the grotesquely edifying conclusion of Helmbrecht. Further, Wernher’s emblematic imagery of Helmbrecht junior’s long hair and hûbe questions the role and malleability of one’s identity and solves it with astonishing directness and logical consistency, as Helmbrecht junior tries, fails, and most importantly, is punished at the conclusion of Helmbrecht for attempting to alter his social identity (with aid from his physical attributes) from a peasant to a knight. The contending identities surrounding Helmbrecht junior’s character, alongside an inky omen set about in the form of a prophetic dream of Helmbrecht senior’s dooms Helmbrecht junior early on as a grim exemplar in abundant warning to the peasants of thirteenth century Germany against disloyalty to their class and a life of nomadic thievery, such as that which Helmbrecht junior selects for himself in Wernher’s distinct narrative.
In exploring the role and function of identity in the late 1200s in Helmbrecht, Wernher consciously ties Helmbrecht junior’s costume of sorts, his hûbe and hair, to tier his human experience in Helmbrecht to include two separate entities of one’s understanding and perception of oneself: that of Helmbrecht junior’s peasant identity, his true-born self which he rejects, alongside his Raubritter identity, the highly idealized, false, and ultimately unobtainable identity for which Helmbrecht junior forfeits all else. In Helmbrecht junior’s self-destructive journey, the identities with which he toils split into a polar, dueling dichotomy at odds with one another and cost him his very existence as he places too much value on his social standing, and as a result, is stripped even of the identity as a peasant which he strives so far and wide to reshape. Using narrative theory, I will explore the connection first to Helmbrecht junior's hûbe with that of his two identities, taking into account the circular narration in the making and unmaking of the hûbe, with the impact the garment has on Helmbrecht junior's otherness within the narrative considered simultaneously. Secondly, using relevant historical information I will consider the role which Helmbrecht junior's long hair has on his dueling identities, considering once more the rhetorical impact his loss of hair has on the didacticism of the plot. Helmbrecht senior’s precognitive dream, surrounding Helmbrecht junior’s fate will be considered as an intermediate step to Wernher’s battling identities and his limpid criticism of societal developments in the late thirteenth century.
MEDIA VITAE / IN MORTE SUMUS (D. A. HEINRICH 92-3)
Fall 2017
Nestled far away across the oceans of time, the implied hero in Hartmann von Aue’s der Arme Heinrich curiously has no dragon to slay, no fair maiden to rescue, no lofty goal or quest of any sort, as Lord Heinrich (D. a. Heinrich 48) already finds himself at the culmination of such deeds, in possession of every possible mortal longing and strong characterial attribute. Heinrich is foolish, however, as he fails to praise the strident, tyrannical God which abided over Medieval life for all that he is and has been given, and Heinrich suddenly falls from grace, afflicted with leprosy, his poverty being acute and steadfast. Lord Heinrich is no more, and der arme Heinrich (D. a. Heinrich 133)), a mere shell of the former man takes his place. In documenting Heinrich’s spiritual awakening and journey to healing, Hartmann, using descriptive language to juxtapose, as well as vivid descriptions, biblical examples (inserting his own beliefs), and commentaries of his characters and their situations, masterfully crafts a battling dichotomy, that of the vanity in the world of the living, outward beauty (or simplified, life), with the other being the spiritual realm, holiness, as how to honor and fear the creator in life to gain, after death, the eternal life (or simplified, death). The reason for this intentional structural design of the story is simple, and appears to be utilized in order to properly convey the extremes and contrasts of Heinrich’s outlook and story. A product of his time, Hartmann’s didactic narrative aims to convey a strong religious message for his audience, that God is all powerful and gives life and everything in it (along with eternal salvation when life concludes), just as He can (and will) claim it all back, while examining and explaining the aforementioned extremes in his protagonist’s secular, courtly life. Hartmann translates his teachings and commentary for his audience through the documenting of the vacillating sovereignty in his dichotomy of beauty and holiness over which abide in Heinrich’s journey and surroundings. Hartmann clearly notes the changing in Heinrich’s priorities as the story unfolds, and an analysis of three separate scenes from the beginning, middle, and end of der arme Heinrich will outline Hartmann’s lesson for his audience, through Heinrich’s own (ever evolving) ranking of Hartmann’s dichotomy. Hartmann’s narrative tools as modes for conveying his message, such as descriptive language, use of scripture/religious ideals, and his own comments on his characters will be considered.
MINNE IST EIN WERNDER UNSIN (LANZELET 4856)
Fall 2017
Love, or minne, and the art of wooing are central themes explored in the vernacular literature of the German middle ages, where brave and gallant knights were engaged willingly in adventure, âventiure, for the sake of, and in the service of, a lady. Such minne has great power and narrative function associated with it in these tales of old, as seen in the life of Iwein, the hero in Hartmann von Aue’s adaptation of the Arthurian romance, transposed as in Chrétien de Troyes from sixth-century Celtic antiquity into the twelfth century of courtly society and knighthood. Glances of the medieval understanding and perception of minne and marriage are ever-present asides in Iwein, manifested as an ideal love laid out in the story which in turn invites the notion for an ideal marriage. Iwein’s failure in fulfilling his obligations as a husband as his story unfolds, alongside his subsequent punishment in losing his wife, indicates that the narrator clearly possesses many of his own pre-existing notions on what love and marriage should look like and interact with one another, with special attention drawn to how one spouse, specifically the husband, should behave within the bonds of matrimony. The narrator acts as a sort of alchemist of marriage as he lays out an equation (through Iwein’s story) in order to exemplify Iwein as an ideal husband, which includes portions of minne and duty both to Laudine, his wife, and to his knightly duties. When the narrator’s equation becomes imbalanced by Iwein in his own life however, disaster and complete loss of self occurs. As Iwein rediscovers himself and his priorities in his transition into an ideal husband, he comes to see the light, the light in his own world being that of balance and moderation. Iwein’s journey of transformation into a balanced, ideal husband as prescribed through the narrator’s clear lesson for his audience (namely that minne and duty in all forms must be balanced) will be analyzed first by the introduction and definition of minne as played by a anthropomorphic, feminine force who commands any heart she chooses as Iwein falls desperately in love with Laudine. Next, a comparison and contrast of the themes of love and marriage and how they function in the characters’ lives in Âventiure 1-3 of the heroic epic Nibelungenlied ( which was written in the same time epoch as Iwein) will demonstrate the ideal taxonomy of behavior and duty within a marriage in the context of the courtly setting of Iwein, as Iwein loses his wife and himself. Finally, relevant historical information from the time in which Iwein was written will be offered alongside the didactic conclusion of Iwein in order to illuminate the medieval outlook on love and marriage, and to contextualize dynamics of Iwein’s journey and marriage, with how the author of Iwein manifested the evolving views of women and marriage in the characters and teachings in the story.
IN DEFENSE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAROLINA-CHAPEL HILL
Fall 2019
Paul Frampton, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, educator to our impressionable youth, has been accused of drug smuggling in Argentina. Not only is the physicist accused of attempting to smuggle two kilograms of cocaine out of the country, but in a letter addressed to Provost Bruce Carney this month, Frampton outlines his outlandish argument for a raise, insisting that he is carrying out his regular duties and obligations as a professor and researcher behind bars in a south american prison. The details surrounding his case appear to indicate that he was the victim of a scam, but it must first be considered that Professor Framptonis accused of a very serious crime, and is an example of his institution and to his students. Although Frampton is currently incarcerated in Argentina, and is at the mercy of the local courts and powers at be for a fair trial, he is employed at an American institution, and is a longtime resident of the United States. These details have clearly made the decision of Provost Bruce Carney and more lately that of Chancellor Holden Thorp difficult, with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill finding itself in unfamiliar territory. Surely, is it a unique situation to have a faculty member holding a tenured professorship behind bars in a south american prison, accused of a crime that gets others locked up for the better portion of the rest of their lives. The decision to suspend Frampton’s pay pending Argentinian court proceedings, and forcefully putting him on family leave (a measure not typically forced onto faculty) indicates the extent of the complicated and delicate situation Chancellor Thorp is balancing at his university. Chancellor Thorp in essence has made a non-decision in keeping Frampton on as an employee on leave but without pay, and many faculty such as UNC-CH mathematics professor Mark Williams, who started an open letter in concern for this decision, said that it was a threat to academic tenure because it could become a back-door method of firing faculty. Not only does Frampton have concerned faculty writing at minimum in complaint of the decision to withhold his pay, but Frampton’s stronger supporters have also provided funds for two separate psychological evaluations which occured recently in the prison in which he is currently held. The evaluations resulted in a diagnosis of a schizoid personality disorder which leaves him unable to make typical social connections, results in poor judgment in day-to-day life, and therefore makes him a gullible target for con artists. Mark Williams is right, this newly forged policy could make firing underhanded. But Mark Williams also indicates the problem of the bigger picture, however, that professors view tenure as a built-in mechanism to excuse them from inexcusable behaviors. Mark Williams is a part of the culture issue in modern higher education, where inadequacy is rewarded and the weakest links protect the weakest links. Frampton seems more concerned with proving his innocence based on a supposed personality disorder and asking for a higher salary than apologizing for his unacceptable and shameful behavior. Chancellor Thorp would do very to set a strong example for at most criminal behavior, and at least irresponsible behavior. Paul Frampton’s current life situation, no matter the outcome, is incompatible with teaching and carrying out his duties. Not only is it unacceptable to use tax dollars from hard working Americans to pay his salary, it is unacceptable to keep him on as a staff member, which is currently sending mixed signals regarding acceptable conduct to other faculty members and is making many question the stability of their institution. Utilizing tax dollars to pay Frampton’s salary while in prison is inappropriate, and allowing him to tarnish the reputation of UNC-CH by remaining employed and associated with the institution is educational heresy. The time to protect institutes of higher education is now, and the time to allow substandard lunatics to hide behind their tenure is over. Send the right message, immediately fire Paul Frampton.
SCHNECKENMUEHLE AND THE SEINFELD PARADIGM
Fall 2019
As a (basically?) native speaker of German, I am able to converse and express myself linguistically to the extent that native speakers (more or less) are able to understand what I am trying to articulate. That is to say, I am comfortable with the unavoidable limitations to my knowledge of the deeper nuances of the German language since I do not live in a German-speaking country, especially pertaining to cultural references, jokes, and idioms. When I read Jochen Schmidt’s Schneckenmuehle recently, I was convinced that I was missing something, that I did not “get” what was going on, due to my non-native level of understanding the German language. I was disappointed in myself, where I previously considered my knowledge of the later days of East Germany around which the story is centered, including societal problems, the rich literary tradition that had sprouted, and day-to-day aspects of everyday life to be solid. Chapters went by where I could not summarize what was happening in the plot, even though the pages were filled with words and sentences which I not only recognized to be comprised of the German language, but I was understanding the words, having to turn to my German-English dictionary only a few times for translation assistance. Rather than commit myself to stating my confusion to my peers, or asking just what, exactly, the book was trying to convey while dissecting it in a seminar, I did what any true Millennial would do, and took a look at the Amazon reviews for the novel. I do not mean to be self-deprecating of my generation (according to the newer generational boundaries, I am on the cusp of the Generation X, anyhow), in fact, quite the opposite. I rely a great deal on Amazon reviews before I click “place your order”, which tend to be overwhelmingly quality praises or criticisms, which are mostly detailed, carefully thought out, and well-written. Amazon has yet to lead me astray, whether I’m on the market for a new sunscreen, some sort of tech gadget that I cannot live without, or some suspiciously low-priced designer shoes. The reviews for Schneckenmuehle were everything I wanted, and more. The work seems to be popular for people who grew up in East Germany attending summer camps as does 14-year old Jens in Schmidt’s work, with the loudest criticisms coming from people who did not grow up in the region, and who were apparently expecting some sort of deep social commentary or reflection from Jens as he lives his life in the summer months of 1989, with the expiry date of the iron curtain in Germany drawing ever closer. I stepped back and asked myself if I was on the same page as the negative reviewers, that I was expecting something that I had not received, in the form of a strange teenage boy laying in his camp sickroom for ingesting too much ketchup. I decided that my still-unknown expectations were not met, so I convinced myself of the ineffectiveness of the work, and was ready to push it aside for greener coming-of-age pastures, when I read one review which turned my Schneckenmuehle-is-a-boring-waste-of-a-book-world upside down. The review was the most negative one yet that I had come across (that was at least coherent and explained why the reader found the piece so abhorrent and dull), and put Jens’ puttering around at summer camp playing table tennis and hiking to nowhere into a different perspective for me. The author of the review complained that he read Schneckenmuehle from cover-to-cover and could not recall what happened (I can relate), that he/she had wasted his/her time reading a book about absolutely nothing. In fact, the reviewer commented that they wished Amazon would take books back for full refunds. I read the review again-Schneckenmuehle: a book about nothing. Mind: blown. As an American who grew up in the 1990s, there is a certain beloved television Sitcom, Seinfeld, which is known affectionately as a show about nothing. In fact, Larry David, one of the creators of the show (with everyone’s favorite balding, stocky man, George Costanza based on curmudgeonly-spirited Larry David) pitched the pilot episode to NBC on these “show about nothing” grounds. The result is a timeless, still-hilarious collection of episodes which depict the pettiness and repetitive behaviors of the characters, with the backdrop not of New York City the bustling metropolis, but of the generic American diner, bachelor apartment, and indiscript street corner within New York City encompassing the “nothing” taking place in the episodes. Did Jochim Schmidt take the Seinfeld concept on in book form? Something I am not used to considering when analyzing texts, due to the ancient nature of the pieces I study (Hartmann von Aue never sat down with Rolling Stone Magazine to talk about his new translation project and how his childhood experiences shaped his literary interests and pursuits while composing Iwein) is examining the background of the author, in an attempt to better understand the “how?” and “why?” behind a novel.
In either case, Schmidt makes a strong statement about hierarchies of existence and the nature of the teenager. The entire world could be burning around him, but Jens is concerned about muscles and dancing, unbothered by the unavoidable “winds of change” upon his place of residence. If Schmidt had grown up in West Germany, one could easily claim that his tale is one of the united plight of the teenager, which is set into motion regardless of one’s location and state of society of the trivial, unimportant location, a proverbial unifying “olive branch” stuck out towards East Germans from the West. If Schmidt grew up in East Germany, one could easily conclude that the narrative can certainly be autobiographical in nature, perhaps a lighthearted self-criticism of his teenaged self who was so involved in the “nothings” in his life that he failed to take the time to process the uniting of Germany, from an East German’s perspective. Schmidt did indeed grow up in East Germany, so there is the autobiographical angle to consider, due to Schmidt’s firsthand knowledge and immersion in East Germany, specifically in the weeks approaching the fall of the Berlin Wall. The goings on as described by Jens in Schneckenmuehle are so trivial, dull, and mundane, that Schmidt has created a body of work that is either genius in its constructed authenticity, or a feat of strength at his amazing memory of his awkward teenage years in the GDR, down to the insignificant detail. I believe it is the former, that Schmidt is not only portraying his version and understanding of adolescents and their nonsensical logic and approach of navigating their way through life, but he is experimenting with DDR discourse, by making Schneckenmuehle everything that the DDR so-called “common narrative” is definitely not. Whether literatures stemming from East Germany were deliberately political or not, the discourse was controlled very much through the eyes and ears of local communist officials, lacing the literature with either confounding suppression or the loss of autonomy underneath a political gaze. Jens, however, tells the reader in Schneckenmuehle of his experiences while at summer camp under the teenage gaze, which is precisely how the piece should be read and considered. George Bernard Shaw once said that “youth is wasted on the young”, and what Schmidt might be letting us in on is his own interpretation of his youth, disappointed in his lack of attention and caring of the changing world around him, too motivated by irrelevant issues that only members of society from age 11-16 or so would find themselves in. In this way, Shaw’s grouchy quote would hold true, that a teenager such as Jens or a young Schmidt is so involved in unimportant pursuits that they fail to sort through the changes coming to them head on, only to be processed and identified decades later as nostalgic frustration with their younger former self. If the sentiment is true that any book which creates a strong emotional response is accurate, Schneckenmuehle worked its magic on me, as I wanted to reach into the pages and shake Jens into oblivion for telling me nothing of life in East Germany at the last possible second of its life. Read Schneckenmuehle if you want to imagine how Jerry and Kramer would pass their time doing nothing in East Germany, or if you want to delight in the petty existence of a teenager whose life situation is so exotic to our own, yet stands in the way of your view into his world with his insecurities and wasted time. Do not read Schneckenmuehle if you are expecting anything else than what I just discussed, or if you particularly dislike teenagers and the way one might tell you about life in East Germany, because you will be left as lost as Jens in Dresden.
BUILD THE CASTLE
Ongoing
In the pines, in the pines, in the cold, lonesome pines; I shiver when the cold wind blows...
Milledgeville
I wish my Mother had told me that fairy tales aren’t real. What a disservice a mother does to her children, by raising them to daydream and to believe in the notion that there is more to life than meets the eye. Before I left in that filthy ship, forever ripping me away from her hearth, I wish I had known that there was no happy ending awaiting me in New York, or anywhere else in America, for that matter. People fight for years to save enough for passage to this vast place only to be worked to death and shunned by the descendants of those who arrived here only a generation before I did. But I thought that I had no future in Norway, and I grew to hate the place that now I can barely remember. When I was still a girl, I forged my entire future life in my imaginations based upon the lies fed to me by my mother: that there are forces of good in this world, wishes to be granted, and a man in wait who seeks my heart and soul as much as I seek his. She taught me about the ancient ways of my ancestors and encouraged me and my sisters to revel in the supposed magic to be found all around us in nature. I never even gave her a chance to talk me out of leaving, and yet I know that no words of wisdom or warning could have kept me from following Helene and Augustinia on their own desperate quests to escape. Yet sometimes I think she could have frozen my course solid had she admitted to me that the things she told me as a child were nothing but ridiculous fables, fabricated to soften the blows applied at regular by the grim realities of the human condition. I would have accepted my fate as a humble baker’s daughter predestined for mediocracy, and she would have saved me the disappointment awaiting me in America, had I told her of my plan to break free. I could have been like her, being born, coming of age, and living out each identical day all within a couple kilometers of the same generic town, but I at least would have my mother to rub salve on my burned arms after long days spent at the ovens, baking breads, cakes, and any special orders our father forced me to fulfill; once upon a time. I used to stare into those ovens at the sinister glow emitted by the burning embers, convinced that I would never get out, my eyes burning and stinging from the truth provided by the heat and the stifling smoke. My acutest fear in Norway; sedentism, now is only a fantasy that comforts as much as it disturbs, especially on this day of all particular days. It has been a very long time since I have met anyone from Norway, but I admit that I used to avoid the opportunity: not only was I embarrassed of my impoverished beginnings and fearful that a countryman may be able to decipher my shame, but I became obsessed with assimilating into the American way of doing things. I would observe how the women on my street wore their hair, tied their dresses, and I tried (unsuccessfully) to mimic the art of small talk. In the end, I think my insistence to deny the reality that I was very different is what allowed Malvern to do this to me. I don’t think Norway has facilities like this one; but if they do, they keep them hidden away someplace where people never go.
HERRNDORF CRACKS THE CODE OF THE TEENAGER
Fall 2019
Teenage boy is misunderstood. Teenage boy meets girl. Girl does not know that teenage boy exists. Teenage boy makes unlikely friendship. Trouble is made, adventures are had, reflections result. Teenage boy is teenage boy no more, self-aware man has emerged. This formula likely reminds different people of different books, as were published and popular throughout the years of one’s youth, encouraging nostalgia, reflection of the ‘good-old-days’, and an attempt at understanding the monstrous creature that is the teenager. One needs only to formulate a unique title, and there you have it: the coming-of-age novel. Both seasoned authors and literary newcomers alike have experimented with the recipe, to varying acclaim and effectiveness. The late Wolfgang Herrndorf, author of the youth novel Tschick, took the recipe experimentation of coming-of-age narratives to yet-unexplored territory, however. Combining elements of the books of his youth alongside here-and-now issues unique to life in former East Germany, Herrndorf created a body of work, classic as it is modern, relevant as it is delightfully esoteric to the American reader. Critics could easily assign labels to Wolfgang Herrndorf’s Tschick, as being “formulaic” or “predictable”, but Herrndorf’s mastery and craft are in fact to be found in the construction of his narrative centered around the unconventional friendship of 14-year old outsider Maik Klingenberg and class ‘bad boy’ Andrej Tschichatschow, as Maik narrates the goings on in his underwhelming existence. To be sure, the two adolescents come from different worlds, with Maik hailing from an upper middle class family plagued by disfunction, and Tschick (a play on his last name) a late Russian repatriate with a murky background and family life, arriving at school intoxicated on occasion. The two are portrayed as a different species of outsider German youth, yet their similarities in social stance and situation set into motion the “borrowing” of a Lada, a rural automobile make still constructed by the same, former Soviet company. Just as Maik settled on spending his summer vacation alone in his (clearly) expensive home, while his parents ride off into the sunset of brokenness-his father departing on a summer holiday with his young assistant, his mother heading to a rehab clinic, Tschick appears from the ethers of Maik’s hopeless outlook in the stolen car, asking Maik to accompany him on a roadtrip to visit his grandfather in Walachia, of which, by the way, neither teen knows the exact location. The resulting misadventures do not disappoint, ranging from becoming lost in a forest, to encountering a feral teenaged girl in a garbage dump, with Herrndorf utilizing the “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” concept strongly as the unlikely pair answers yet unasked questions of themselves while on the road. Herrndorf’s concept of space in Tschick can be interpreted as a nod to the walkabout, the vital quest through trial and tribulation of the male adolescent, or that of the notion which dates back to the Middle Ages, where the great unknown of the horizon, the forest, is the fosterer and keeper of adventure and the fantastical. The developmental catalyst that is Herrndorf’s concept of the road is one of many carefully delivered elements found in Tschick, as, according to Herrndorf, were directly inspired and based upon memorable books from his own childhood. When asked by FAZ why he wrote a youth-centered, coming of age novel with Tschick, author Wolfgang Herrndorf stated that in 2004 he reread the books of his childhood, setting out to determine whether they were as good as he remembered, or if the twelve-year old lenses through which he first read them obstructed his impressions and understandings of texts such as Lord of the Flies and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Herrndorf took his inquiry a step further, and set out to identify themes which show up again and again in these novels of his own yesteryear, whose memory and impact followed him into his adult life. There were three themes divulged in his interview which he said showed up noticaebly often, which included “a quick elimination of the grown-up attachment figure, long journey, wide waters”. Herrndorf being the alchemist of words that he was, set out to challenge himself in composing a coming-of-age tale which incorporated these themes, as the supreme plot additions which make a novel a coming-of-age tale. The experiment worked, Tschick was born, and it was enjoyed, translated even for readers curious about his creation. But how did Herrndorf support the success of his literary experiment? By cracking the code of the teenager.
The gaze over which one reads Tschick are as vital to consider as the eyes which narrate the story for the reader, that of a socially awkward 14-year old. Read for example under a feminist gaze, the female figures are problematic, with an alcoholic, impulsive mother, trashy drifter, and one with whom the duo came into contact being described as a hippo all being female, yet this is Herrndorf’s objective. The reader does not walk away from this novel as better informed on day-to-day life in the Eastern section of modern Berlin, the state of his neighborhood, school, or access to higher education. Maik wishes to convey no deeper meaning or epiphany on the state of youth-he is just a guy who runs away in a Lada. The reader instead is given a report on the conditions of life as reported by an outcast 14 year old, with details either witheld or expanded upon as Maik himself deems necessary. National pressures with which modern German must engage brought forth by refugees, economic woes, and political strife are all but absent in Tschick, with points of drama and tenseness to be found instead in the struggles Maik has with a drawing of Beyonce, self-commissioned as a would-be birthday gift to Tatijana, the double-x-chromosomed object of his desires. Anyone who has spent more than thirty seconds with a teenager recently also knows that they can be very unreliable, whether purposefully excluding information to their parents to avoid trouble, or accidentally, merely blind by youth to the ways of the world. It is possible that Maik is omitting information to the reader, or being purposefully hyperbolic during times of reflection and action, which comes off as authentic and charmingly naive in Tschick. One might be tricked in the beginning of the novel, when Maik reads a shockingly honest, detailed report of his mother’s alcoholism out loud for his class, but it is entirely possible that Maik is exagerating for his class the degree of his mother’s illness simply to stand out in his class. Herrndorf is able to immerse himself in Maik’s situation in order for the reader to gain full access into his take on things, which is unique as it is amusing. The reader would do well to take Maik for what he is, a wealthy teenager with family problems that Americans would enjoy witnessing on a reality TV show, but a teenager at that, unaware and uninterested in what he cannot see and touch. As for Tschick, he weathers the storm of their misadventure as well or as poorly as Maik does, where the kid from the right side of the tracks is just as screwed up as the kid from the wrong side of the tracks. Such is the condition of the teenager, the teenager being a universal term for those awkward years that come between youth and adulthood, where lows are just a little lower and highs just a little higher. Herrndorf, who sadly took his own life after a grim cancer diagnosis, does not exactly gift Maik with a boy-meets-girl, boy-gets-girl ending, but once disinterested Tatijana is at least mildly interested in Maik (a great departure from her attitude toward him before), or, at least, Maik’s crazy story from summer break. Maybe instead of code cracking, there was some vicarious living through Maik on the part of Herrndorf when piecing Tschick together from the scraps of novels come before the time of Tschick, which is a comforting thought when thinking of Maik/Herrndorf riding into the sunset towards Wallachia, wherever that is.
HOW MUCH IS TOO GRATUITOUS? SEX, DRUGS, AND MORE SEX IN AXOLOTL ROADKILL
Fall 2019
I grew up with a “cool” mom. You know the type, who pulls up in her black sports car with her oversized jean jacket, a long, floral babydoll dress partially covering Doc Martens, while blaring the newest grunge jam in the pickup line at school. Or, maybe you don’t, because I grew up in the 1990s and I have just described a “cool” mom circa 1995. But, in any case my mother was always hip (do people even say “hip”, anymore?) with fashion and music trends, but it wasn’t forced-she was just naturally cool and liked things that happened to be trendy. I have memories of her sewing dresses for me while watching Headbanger’s Ball on MTV into the early hours of the night, and we didn’t celebrate Halloween in her house, but rather Samhain, complete with bonfires and rune castings. Fast forward a few years to a rather uncomfortable situation in which I found myself with my “cool” mother. I got through my early teenage years rocking out to Blink-182, a pop-ish/punk group (now fatter and with grey hair) who loved to make as much noise (I say “noise” as opposed to “music” deliberately here) as possible, and the more references to penises, sex, and language that would have landed me in detention (forever), the better. Singing along to their lyrics at any given time felt like a miniature rebellion, especially after any sort of episode of melodrama which landed me in hot water at home. I had a “cool” mom, but she definitely had boundaries and I definitely was not above punishment. I saved up babysitting money to buy every new CD and poster of theirs that I could find, including snapping up their 2001 release Take of Your Pants and Jacket instantly after it was put up for sale. They were not my mom’s cup of tea, but she was tolerant enough to surprise me with tickets to a concert of theirs when they stopped through Colorado on their Take of Your Pants and Jacket Summer tour. By this time, I was in high school and thought I was past feeling awkward about hearing questionable language or watching movies with sex scenes with my mother, but I was wrong. As soon as the show started, the word F-U-C-K which served as a backdrop on the curtains exploded in fiery, glory, and the show started. The flaming vulgarity seemed out of place and random, which made me uncomfortable. My eyes darted over to my mothers’, and it was clear she didn’t approve. About five seconds later, when I began going over the lyrics to the songs on Take of Your Pants and Jacket in my head and realized what was still to come, at that moment, I wanted to either vanish into thin air or explode-whichever one was quickest. I tried to make myself feel better, telling myself that they probably wouldn’t play every song, and the songs they would play probably would be those that circulated more frequently on local radio stations, and naturally are those which contain less questionable language. For some reason, the double meaning behind the album title hit me hard too, but I was trapped. The first few songs were ok, containing a “fuck” or “shit” here and there, but not only did they play every song, but they added one in called The Grandpa Song. Now it was my turn to cuss. At the time, I even found this song offensive and would skip over it anytime it came on during my teenage angst parties, and Blink-182 really threw me a curve ball in playing a song that wasn’t even on their new album. The Grandpa Song, for those lucky enough not to be acquainted with it, is a quick little ditty about the incestuous rape of a grandfather. Not only did they play the song in the first place, but they repeated it slow motion, which seemed to go on for centuries. I never talked to my mother about it after that fateful June evening, but that night I learned the difference between expressing oneself using language that may happen to offend, to that of expressing oneself using language that may be offensive, for the sake of being offensive. Either way, it’s memorable, shocking, and provides a lasting impression (even if the impression is only that one walked away feeling offended). Blink-182 were possibly ahead of their time in selling tickets based off their shock value, as I feel less and less of a reaction when I come into contact with social taboos and vulgar language, but coming to terms with the fact that my favorite band was doing this to sell tickets was disappointing. Describing their use of tabooed family dynamics by stating that it’s gratuitous in nature would indicate that the language is unwarranted, lacking good reason, and plain and simple uncalled for. This was precisely the sentiments going through my head when I read Helene Hegemann’s Axolotl Roadkill, recently, which I hope my long-winded anecdote explains and connects the use of language in both instances. I have to ask myself about gratuitous sex in a novel that casually brings up anal sex in the third page of the introductory chapter, before any real character introductions or any set up at all of the narrative occurs, to be sure. 16-year old Mifti finds herself about as dysfunctional as a teenager, or any person at any age, for that matter could be. She has an excuse for her self-destructive behavior being that of the recent death of her mother, living in a city that Americans seem to hold in some sort of semantic association to that of a drug hub, Berlin, existing in an evermore dire state of disaster. In between episode after episode of sexual, drug-induced encounters, there unfolds a strange diagnosis, as though one in medicine can formally diagnose a problem child with a disorder, the seedy underground of Berlin club culture, a “child knows best” outlook of a generation of parents who don’t care what becomes of their children, and a 16 year old who really needs some therapy and might just be a genius. The sex and drugs can be explained as Mifti numbing the pain of the bleak reality that is her existence, but why so much of it? Is this a “shock value” composition, relying on German youth who will feel like rebels for reading about Mifti’s promiscuity, or is this meant to be a poignant coming-of-age story for a new generation of German teens, facing different societal pressures and hardships as never before? The validity of the novel is lost on me when I consider that this was written by a teenager. No matter how well-versed Helene Hegemann may be in experience, she is still of an age of inexperience. Teenage mothers are not suddenly adept and capable of caring for their babies on the basis of becoming pregnant, and Hegemann is not in a position to make statements about a subset of society in which she currently participates as a teenager, almost attempting to self-label herself as especially mature or gifted, sheerly on the basis of discussing “adult” topics. What I’m left with in Axolotl Roadkill are the ramblings of a teenager that are just that-ramblings. Not that I’m a hardened drug-user or one who regularly engages in anonymous sex, but many of the scenes seemed very contrived and very Hollywood, where the life and times of a drug user may actually look more commonly and more realistically like that of the lawyer who lives next door to you, or the nurse who draws your blood in a clinic. The sheer volume of narrative space dedicated in the description of drug use and sexual acts became redundant as it was gratuitous, serving from what I see as no real narrative function or rhetorical value. Furthermore, an issue which I find ironic and amusing, is that Hegemann was accused of plagiarism when a blogger, Deef Pirmasens, became suspicious of the ability of a teenager such as Hegemann in describing with such vivid detail the Berlin drug scene particularly in clubs, such as the infamous Berlin techno club Berghain. Pirmasens discovered that many scenes in Axolotl Roadkill were more than a bit like the writings of another German blogger, known only by the name Airen. Not only did Hegemann go overboard in the uncalled-for excess of sex and drugs in Axolotl Roadkill, but her ideas are unoriginal. This revelation almost reads like its own teenage trash novel, almost too perfect of a find, when I was making sense of my reaction of the novel, which is a hard pass for me. Someone far wiser than I once said something along the lines of “it’s kind of like jazz: if you have to ask, you don’t understand”. Sorry, Helene, I had to ask-so, I don’t understand.
THE ECONOMICS OF BLASPHEMY: GORDON GEE’S JOURNEY OF SURVIVAL
Fall 2019
Convicted criminals play for the NFL, police officers are continually and alarmingly accused of and convicted of crimes ranging from assault to murder, and esteemed physicians and coaches are somehow able to engage in sexually abusive behavior for years before being placed in front of a judge to answer for their illegal and horrifying behavior. An entire newspaper operation could be dedicated to reporting on and commentary in response to the countless offensive and possibly illegal controversies surrounding the current president of our United States. People in positions of power get away with behaviors, even criminal activity, because they have the resources and influence available to them to excuse themselves from common decency and the law. Donald Trump’s Twitter account contains enough volatile ramblings that would result in the grounds for termination of a position of someone’s underneath his several times over, and there are NFL players whose criminal records would automatically exclude them from employment at McDonald’s, yet they earn salaries which place them in the top one percent of the one percent. This culture of excusing trickles down into seemingly all facets of american society, even darkening the pride and excellence that is higher education in this country. It is unavoidable that throughout the natural, organic evolution of universities in the United States, that there would be individuals placed in positions of governing power over them. Naturally, many university campuses have grown to be massive, almost miniature cities and societies within the state and city in which they are located, and so many living their lives day-to-day and studying amongst one another in one space unavoidably results in controversy, illnesses, deaths, and times of unease and unrest. And yet so many university presidents, whose positions are so vital to their institution, come under criticism for their actions and words during times of hardship on university campuses across America. Some university presidents, like E. Gordon Gee, current president of West Virginia University, come under criticism all on their own, with controversy sprouting from their own actions as opposed to coming under attack due to their actions and response after a tragedy or hardship. Gordon Gee’s offensive comments made about catholics has never made breaking news on CNN like Donald Trump’s Twitter account, but all the same, he has been protected by the system in which he exercises his disrespect, as dictated by this apparent flaw in culture, undoubtedly due to his powerful position as a president of a large university. Gee’s journey to being appointed president of West Virginia University includes a history of poor self control, but what likely allowed WVU to look past his shortcomings would be his history of making money. Gordon Gee is good at making money for institutions, and has previously been named by Time as one of the top ten university presidents in 2010. Supporting Gordon Gee’s strong economic history is his experience at governing, whether or not one believes he does so poorly. Indeed, Gee has held more university presidencies than any other person in America, which may indicate an obvious problem in his frequent relocation, but, he keeps getting rehired by quality institutions. To any American who has come across the name in the mainstream media, Gee is perhaps most infamous for his offensive comment regarding catholics, but his history of offending has been long and expansive. Prior to first being named temporary acting President of West Virginia University, Gee came under fire during his first tenure at Ohio State University for referring to TCU’s and Boise State’s football programs as “Little Sisters of the Poor”, and many took issue with his spending $64,000 on Ohio State boweties. The culmination of his vitriolic slander came during his second tenure with Ohio State, when he compared his presidency of Ohio State to that of running the Polish army, and his later anti-catholic comment regarding Notre Dame being added to the Big Ten. Gee did not go unpunished, nor did he lose his job, however. After being contacted by the Ohio State University Board of Trustees regarding his behavior, he announced his retirement in June of 2013. Sadly, such behavior can easily be explained away as being simmply in good fun, locker room-style jesting meant in good nature, and any reputable university in America could be accused of extravagant spending. These are points that West Virginia University surely argued when proceeding with hiring Gee first temporarily, and then permanently as president. A Board of Trustees does not think collectively as an average single American does, nor should they. Their very existence depends exclusively on the flow of money into their institution, and pragmatism, justifiably so, takes hierarchy over emotion. WVU would have been foolish to ignore his accomplishments during his tenure at Vanderbilt, where he not only concluded a $1.25 billion dollar fundraising campaign a staggering two years ahead of schedule, but the institution as a whole experienced dramatic increase in student applications and a rise in the SAT scores of incoming freshmen. Such successes do indicate a high degree of dedication and fortitude in Gee’s job performance, which cannot be ignored. A university president’s most vital, noble job requirement is to locate and raise funding to stay afloat, which is largely accomplished by experience, making Gee one of the most qualified acting presidents in America. WVU acted wisely in appointing Gee president, and if they had not done so, Gee would have had no issue finding a university governing position elsewhere. In President Gee’s letter posted to WVU’s website in January of this year, he lists WVU’s accomplishments including the highest ever freshmen GPA, the opening of a new campus, and more than $1.2 million raised. He is doing his job, and is doing it well. Are Gee’s past behaviors offensive? Absolutely. Is he a poor example of sportsmanship and good manners? Yes. Gee is not the problem, however, and his indiscretions come up mild in comparison to others. His post at WVU can be interpreted by the masses as getting away with behaviors deemed unacceptable elsewhere because of his rank in society, however, which does set a damaging precedent. Gee has been found innocent of his past controversies, however, because he survives still, but his survival and lack of justice served is hardly unique-not only in higher education administration, but in American business and politics at every level. Gordon Gee may not do well with words, but what he does well with is greener and speaks louder than any spoken word ever will be able to, while this cancerous culture persists. Don’t hate the player, hate the game.
TRENDS IN MAJOR, MINOR TRAJECTORIES: SUPPORTING MAJORS AT EVERY ENTERING-LEVEL
Spring 2019
Introduction:
The Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures has experienced a notable decline in enrollment over the past 2 years. While the severity of the decline can be explained as a temporary anomaly, it is fruitful to perform an assessment of the trajectories of the department’s majors and minors to possibly justify an audit of course offerings or to found recruitment protocols for novice students in particular. This can be accomplished by examining historical data containing the first L21 course taken by German majors and minors at Washington University, with the goal of the study being to discover avenues for increasing enrollment by better understanding first L21 course enrollment trends amongst majors and minors. Beginning in 2006, MLA’s census began to ask distinct questions about introductory (first- and second-year) course enrollments and advanced ones (third- and fourth-year). With the exception of Korean, the most commonly taught languages (German included) showed especially sharp declines in enrollments at the advanced level from 2013-16. The 2016 MLA census indicated a 5:1 ratio of introductory to advanced enrollments for German.
Methodology:
Data indicating the first L21 course which German majors and minors enrolled in at Washington University were collected and sorted first by level; identified as 100-level, 200-level, 300-level or 400-level. The data was then sorted further by year and combined into 5-year increments due to the small sample size (n) provided by single years. Finally, the data was divided further into majors and minors within the five-year increments. The data spans from the years 1974-2018, with no minors reported for the years 1974-1978. There were no other observed irregularities in the data. 300-level and 400-level enrollments were combined in reporting to form a single variable due to the minuscule number of students enrolling in a 400-level course as their first L21course. Percentages of enrollees of each level were calculated against the total number of incoming students within each year-increment for both majors and minors.
Analysis:
Historical data from German majors indicates a healthy enrollment rate in both lower-level and upper-level first L21 courses. 100-level and 200-level enrollments accounted for more than half of all enrollments for the years 1974-78, 1979-83, 1984-88, 1989-93, 1994-1998, 2009-13 and for half of all enrollments for the years 2004-08 for German majors. The years 1999-03 and 2014-18 indicate rates of enrollment for advanced courses (300-and 400-level courses) of over 50% in both year-increments for German majors. The years 2009-13 and 2013-18 experienced a 75% increase in advanced-level enrollments amongst majors. First course enrollments at the 100-level experienced a 77% decrease for the years 2009-13 and 2013-18 amongst majors. Historical data from German minors also indicates a healthy enrollment rate in both lower-level and upper-level first L21 courses. 100-level and 200-level enrollment accounted for more than half of all enrollments for the years 1984-88, 1989-93, 2994-98, 1999-03, 2004-08, 2014-18 and for half of all enrollments in the years 1979-83 for German minors. The years 2009-13 and 2013-18 experienced a 104% increase in advanced-level enrollments amongst minors. First course enrollments at the 100-level experienced a 51% decrease for the years 2009-13 and 2013-18 amongst minors. The years 2014-18 indicate upper-level enrollment at 70% for majors and 47% for minors.
Discussion:
The increase in upper-level enrollments amongst majors for the years 2009-13 and 2014-18 (Table 1) at 75% is the inverse trend reported by the MLA for 2016. The upper-level enrollment rates for minors (Table 2) at 104% also indicate this inverse trend against the MLA’s census results. The majority of incoming German majors from the years 2014-18 entered their program at Washington University with previous exposure (through courses or other means of exposure) to German. This may indicate awareness in the increasing practicality of studying German, especially in combination with another area of study. Traditionally, majors who enter Washington University’s German Department at the upper-level are able to finish their program satisfactorily and with adequate proficiency in the German language upon graduation. Due to the very small percentage (10%) of 100-level enrollments amongst majors for the years 2014-18 (Table 1), it may be of benefit to the department to diversify the population of majors by developing recruitment protocols for high school students who would enter their program of study at the lower-level. Intense 200-and 300-level courses may become necessary for students who enter the program at the 100-level to become proficient. It would be fruitful for the department to broadcast the successes of lower-level and upper-level German majors at every opportunity, in order to instill new interest and encourage currents majors to finish their program. In order to meet the needs of every major, it is a good “best-practice” policy of the department not to cancel courses due to low enrollment.
GEDICHTANALYSE
Fall 2019
Ich habe ein Gedicht von Else Lasker-Schüler gewält, aus dem Gedichtband "Mein blaues Klavier". Der wurde im Jahre 1943 erstmals veröffentlicht., und wurde nach einem ihrer bekanntesten Gedichte benannt, das Sandra uns schon gezeigt hat. Ich habe noch ein Gedicht mit dem selben Thema, (ihre Mutter) mitgebracht um zu vergleichen. Das andere wurde im Jahre 1917 geschrieben, also bevor ihrem Exil.
Jetzt ein bisschen über sie:
Else Lasker-Schüler wurde am 11. Februar 1869 als Tochter eines Bankiers in Wuppertal-Elberfeld geboren. Sie hatte eine sehr enge Beziehung zu ihrer Mutter, deren Tod 1890 ein großer Verlust für Lasker-Schüler war. Ihre ersten Gedichte erschienen 1899. Sie lebte lange Jahre in Berlin (wo ihr Sohn Paul geboren wurde) und war in den literarischen Cafés zu Hause. Sie traf mit vielen Künstlern und Schriftstellern ihrer Zeit zusammen. Sie war zweimal verheiratet-sie hatte ein sehr böhmisches Leben damals. Sie lebte von ihren literarischen Produktionen und ihren Zeichnungen; aber immer mit Geldsorgen, auch als sie in Jerusalem im Exil gelebt hat. 1933 hatte sie emigrieren müssen, zuerst in die Schweiz, dann nach Israel. Am 22. Januar 1945 starb sie in Jerusalem.
Sie ist eine herausragende Vertreterin der avantgardistischen Moderne und des Expressionismus in der Literatur.
Einige Themen die sie oft benutzt: Weiblichkeit, Mutterschaft, Tod, das Tabu des Todes (z.B. Tod des Kindes)
Gedicht vorlesen
Ich finde das Gedicht sehr Melancholisch, Persönlich (lyrische ich) als ob sie in ihr Tagebuch schreibt, auch autobiographisch weil wir wissen über ihre Beziehung zu ihrer Mutter, gegenwärtig (nur im Präsens), Ich stelle ein Moment vor in dem sie ganz alleine im Dunkeln sitzt und über ihre Mutter denkt, und auch trauert. was ein anderes wichtiges Thema im Gedicht ist.
Sie benutzt viele wiederholung beim trauern, es könnte auch eine Form dem ritualisierter Trauer beim beten.
Ich habe deshalb etwas religiöses gespürrt. Nähmlich Ich habe an Jüdische Traditionen gedacht, -es erinnert mich an 2 sachen entweder Shabbat oder Jahrzeit. Z. B. Nur die Frau/Mutter in der Familie soll die Kerzen für Shabbat anzünden-das ist die einzige Rolle der Frau im Shabbat Ritual -das und den Segen über die Kerzen zu sagen. Es ist auch Traditionall wenn eine Mutter auch eine Kerze für jedes Kind anzündet. Es kann sein, dass es Shabbat war, und Lasker-Schüler an die Weibliche Rolle Shabbats dachte, als Mutter ohne Ihre Mutter und ihren Sohn. Aber Da es nur eine Kerze im Gedicht gibt habe ich auch an die “Yahrtzeit” das rituelle Begängnis des Todestages eines Gläubigen. Zur Feier der Jahrzeit gehört das Sprechen des Kaddisch (Gebet), der Besuch des Grabes sowie das Anzünden einer Kerze, die für 24 Stunden brennt. Es steht im Gedicht das die Kerze die ganze nacht brennt, genauso wie es für die Jahrzeit wäre. Bewahrt auch wurde das Andenken an die Verstorbenen seit dem Mittelalter in Memorbüchern, also es ist wichtig über die Verstorbenen zu sprechen und auch schreiben für die Jahrzeit, und lasker Schühler macht genau das.
Wenn ich an die weibliche Rolle des Shabbats und ihre eigene Beziehung zu ihrer Mutter denke, denke ich an die Weibliche Rolle des Judentums. Z. B, Im Judentum erbt ein Kind alles von der Mutter. Das heist Wenn die Mutter jüdisch ist dann ist das Kind auch Jüdisch. Ich glaube sie spielt mit dieser religiösen mystischen Verbindung zwischen Mutter und Kind. Lasker-Schüler ist aber eine sehr interessante Figur, da sie als Jude zürück nach Israel (die ürpsrüngliche Heimat des Judentums) kehrte (make Aliyah), aber war da unglücklich, allein und hatte Erfolg überhaupt nicht. Sie brauchte fininzialle Hillfe von anderen Schriftstellern, als eine jüdische Frau in Israel die an eine andere Heimat denkt. Sie hat auch früher über sehnsucht für Israel geschrieben (das Hebräerband 1937), yad vashem hat auch Forschung im moment über das thema. Die Tragödie ist das, ihre religiöse oder Traditionelle Rückkehr sozusagen ist auch der Ort ihre Exil, und hat in Israel als Aussenseiterin gelebt.
Jetzt wollte ich etwas zum 2. Gedicht sagen. Im 2. Gedicht ist das Trauern auch ganz stark, aber viel abstrakter dargestellt. Ihre Mutter im Tod und sie teilen den grossen Verlust der der Tod bringt. Sie formuliert die Frage ganz schön was überhaupt passiert wenn wir sterben-wohin gehen wir, gibt es noch ein “ich” nach dem Tod? Aber ihre Mutter ist die Figur die sie benutzt um diese Fragen zu formulieren.
Beide Gedichte gilten als Beispliele des Expressionismus insofern als-etwas emotionelles sondern die physikalische realität dargestellt wird-ihr Herz brennt nicht, aber wir alle spürren die Bedeutung und ihren Schmerz.
ELSE LASKER-SCHÜLER ON EXILE AND OTHERNESS
Fall 2018
The melancholy and consuming discomfort of displacement, the wavering perception of home and origin, and the bleak notion of being ‘other’ serve as the overwhelmingly constant, domineering thematic pursuits of those authors who continued their craft under the conditions of exile from the tyranny of the Third Reich during the Second World War. Whether forced out of their native Germany[1] due to controversial (according to fascist Germany’s standards) political beliefs, their reduction in status as a result of banning or censorship, or based upon racism due to religious affiliation[2], an entire generation of authors and the like fled to locations abroad in neutral Europe, across the Atlantic to the Americas, even Palestine. They did not remain silent in these foreign lands, however, and an entire movement of audacious, critical, yet wistfully homesick literature came to be as a result of this trying period as reflected so poignantly in the literature. The years 1933-1945 encompass a rich and diverse oeuvre known today in scholarship as Exilliteratur, with contributors who published works while exiled hailing from populations of already-recognized literary giants from the days prior to the outbreak of World War Two to those who struggled with success in their time and have remained somewhat hard to place within the Exilliteratur paradigm; having presently largely escaped the memory from both their land of origin and land of exile.
Else Lasker-Schüler, poet and artist with her origins as one of the few women holding an affiliation in the Expressionist movement of the early twentieth century is one such author who, in more recent days, has risen again to eminence and memory in both her native Germany and her place of exile and death, modern-day Israel. Lasker-Schüler’s legacy includes a rich tradition in particular of distinctive poems and drawings concerned with her place in the extremes of the human experience, yet her poetry is more difficult to orient in the context of Exilliteratur as I have mentioned above due to her grapples with popularity and the reality that she was exploring themes of exile, otherness, and homesickness well before coming to Palestine. Her works in exile remain a quite status quo achievement when considered alongside her earlier poetic pursuits, no doubt due to the highly autobiographical nature of her compositions, where she looked no further than her own trials and tribulations for inspiration: Lasker-Schüler’s own life was marred by tragedy and death, isolation and fleeting happiness. Among other things, her multiple marriages, her unique gender-defying poetic identity, and her Bohemian lifestyle certainly resulted in ostracism not only in her inner artistic circle but to the whole of society, a blessing for her creative genius yet a curse in her quality of life. Speaking to her identity as a public ‘other,’one could say her social station was doomed from her birth as she also was Jewish in a time and place which saw increasing anti-Semitism evolve into the attempt to wholly unmake the Jewish people and ethnicity during World War Two. She was painfully aware of the isolating disservice of her religious identity, and explores the essences and innermost defining attributes of Judaism in her poetry, both as more obvious references and indirect mystical motifs. Else Lasker-Schüler identified as both a German and a Jew, and explored the quintessence of home and origin within both unique selfhoods. By the time she was an author in exile, she was already years into this special sort of self experimentation, self-consciously retaining ownership of her multifaceted otherness. According to my thesis, Else Lasker-Schüler portrays herself and circumstances as ‘other’, thereby muddling the meaning of home and origin in her works written while in exile in Palestine, where she never manages to fix herself into the mold of her environment. This notion of otherness proves particularly influential in her works: I will apply interpretive focus towards two such exile poems from the collection Mein Blaues Klavier: Meine Mutter and one more which bears the same title as the volume. A study of her background and pre-exile poetry will importantly reveal her early awareness in and individual understanding of exile as she explored themes and styles which served her later on as an emigrée in Palestine, with a brief introduction of exile specifically in the Jewish context and what meaning it carries in her oeuvre to follow.
In the following, I will deal with the interesting but difficult life of Else Lasker-Schüler, which will reveal her early dealings with otherness and exile. It is also noteworthy that the autobiographical quality of her poetry is an observational stance already well-documented in the scholarship and one that I also support. She was born on 11 February 1869 as the daughter of a well-to-do German-Jewish banker in Wuppertal-Elberfeld. She had a very close relationship with her mother, whose death in 1890 devastated Lasker-Schüler; her mourning and pining away for her mother are constant asides in her poetry[3]. By the time of her exile in 1934, she was a well-seasoned lyricist and performer, with her earliest poems appearing in 1899. She lived in Berlin for many years, where her beloved son and only child Paul was born[4], and was active there in appearances in the literary cafes of her time; a female engaged with the male-centric expressionist movement. She considered many (male) artists, such as Franz Marc, and writers, such as Karl Kraus, members of her intimate circle of acquaintances. Lasker-Schüler was married twice and led a quite autonomous, bohemian life, which led to difficulties later on during her exile in Palestine. Her son died an untimely death, and similar to her mourning her mother, bearing witness to such suffering and eventual death alongside the pain at losing her only child served as a gloomy muse for her lyrics and applied to her existence a debilitating blow of solitude. She relied and lived on the sale of her literary productions and her drawings, and often found herself plagued with financial woes, which followed her to her Palestinian exile. Her exile was set into motion in 1933[5]: as a Jew, she was physically harassed and threatened by the Nazis, forced to emigrate first to Zürich. There, too, she remained unable to work, traveling to Palestine in 1934 and finally settling in Jerusalem in 1937. In 1938 she was stripped of her German citizenship and the outbreak of World War Two prevented her from ever returning to her native Germany. While in exile, she hardly thrived in her adopted home; she tended to spend whatever money she had all at once which made her go for days without food or shelter. The poet Manfred Schturmann came to her aid, both financially and professionally; he edited her work and helped with her dealings with publishers. After her death, Schturmann became the trustee of her legacy and estate: throughout the 1950s and 1960s, he dealt widely with publishers located in East and West Germany, Switzerland, and Austria who showed any enthusiasm in publishing her works. As I have indicated above, Lasker-Schüler experienced great isolation and confinement on many levels, which became foundational to her literary identity: an identity and self-image which she utilized freely and smartly in her poetry.
[1] A number of Vienna’s literary greats, including Robert Musil, Robert Neumann, and and Hermann Broch suffered under the Austro-fascist dictatorship established in 1943 and also fled abroad as a result, offering meaningful contributions to the resulting exile literatures of the day.
[2] It is no surprise that a great number of exile authors were among the general population of persecuted Jews: Lion Feuchtwanger, Alfred Döblin, and Bruno Frank are but a few examples of this large lot who were lucky enough to escape to exile and continue publishing.
[3] The 1882 death of her favorite brother Paul undoubtedly inspired her poetically as well, insofar as for Lasker-Schüler, death was a reality which she had to turn into fantasy to be able to bear.
[4] Her son was born as the result of a still-clouded in mystery affair, allegedly fathered by one Alcibiades de Rouan; another departing of Lakser-Schüler from conventional values that would of course have a segregating effect on any woman in the early twentieth century.
[5] Lasker-Schüler’s exile came early on in the mass exodus of German authors; she is among the older generation of exile authors, already beyond middle age at the outbreak of World War Two.